Sins of the Father
"Hey! I've been looking for you."
"Why?"
"Don't play games with me, You know what's going on. That video? Maddie Claybourne? What are you thinking?"
"It's the truth. I am Deacon's daughter."
"It is the truth but it's your truth. It's not for anybody but you that's personal for you. That is not for the whole world and everybody on the internet to know."
"I want the world to know. Why don't you?"
"Because I want to protect you. I don't want people that you don't even know weighing in on your life. People can be cruel and heartless I don't want that for you."
"No. You want to protect you. You don't want the world to know that you have an illegitimate daughter."
"Don't you- don't you ever, ever say that."
Deacon could see something was wrong the moment he steps off the stage and sees Rayna with Maddie, tears in her eyes, looking shaken. She sees Deacon.
"We need to talk," she addresses him.
Rayna grabs Maddie by the arm and heads off to a private room, Deacon trailing behind. Maddie enters the room and sits down on a couch, arms folded.
"Do you want to tell him what you did?" Rayna asks sternly.
Maddie is sobbing now and Deacon goes over to her, sitting down and wrapping his arms around her.
Rayna explains what happened, that Maddie posted a video of herself singing and playing guitar on YouTube, calling herself Maddie Claybourne. Deacon takes in a deep breath. He doesn't say anything for a while, still processing the information and consoling Maddie.
"We need to fix this," Rayna says. "We need to go public. I'll talk to Bucky, we'll set something up on GMA. I'm going to say that I made certain decisions back then that at the time seemed like the right thing to do. I'll say-"
"No." Deacon says firmly, cutting her off. "This is my mistake and I'm going to fix it." Maddie cries harder and Rayna becomes more frustrated, glaring at Deacon.
"Maddie, look at me." Deacon says firmly, leaning away from her. "My mistake was drinking too much and putting your mother in this position. "
"And me? Was I a mistake? If mom hadn't gotten pregnant-"
"Maddie, no," Rayna says, shaking her head, her heart breaking into yet smaller pieces.
"Maddie…my mistake was missing the first 14 years of your life. Sweetheart, you are the best thing that had ever happened to me."
Rayna lets out the breath she'd been holding, relief gradually starting to set in.
"You mean everything to me, and your mama, too. The only mistake made was mine, for not being strong enough to make a family for you."
Maddie's sobbing quiets and Deacon just holds her, turning to Rayna. "We're going to go public and tell the truth. I'm not letting them blame you for this. We're going to tell them I was a good for nothing alcoholic who couldn't even remember proposing to the love of my life."
"Deacon, no." Rayna, with tears in her eyes, shakes her head. She's leaning against the counter looking scared and crushed. "No, Deacon you don't have to do that."
Deacon gently frees himself from Maddie, rubbing her arm and making sure she's okay before walking over to Rayna.
"Rayna." He puts his hands on her arms and looks at her firmly. "We're going to do this together. This isn't going to be all on you. You don't have to face the world, and country music, all on your own."
Rayna surprises him, throwing her arms around his neck and burying her head in his chest before the flood gates open. He rubs her back softly, doing his best to offer up his strength to her.
Maddie watches quietly for a few minutes before walking over. "Mom? I'm sorry." She hugs Rayna. Deacon reaches out and rubs her back, for the first time feeling like he has something to offer his daughter, something to bring to the table.
-Nashville-
The interview with Robin Roberts on Good Morning, America takes place the next from Rayna's home, via satellite. Teddy and Maddie are present behind the cameras but the focus is on Rayna and Deacon. He holds Rayna's hand as she explains the situation behind Maddie's paternity, that Deacon had proposed marriage to her but then relapsed and didn't remember any of it. She had been so scared for him, that he would never get well, and there were people in his court that said he couldn't get well if he thought she would always be there to pick up the pieces. When she found out that she was pregnant she was scared. She was at the height of her career and times were different. She would have been judged harshly for being a single parent in country music. She stops to wipe a tear with her free hand. "It killed me not to tell Deacon." She turns to look at Deacon. "I have never stopped loving him and I truly believed if I didn't walk away from him that he wouldn't have made it to see his daughter born. My mother died when I was young, and my father and I were distant from each other. I didn't want that for my own child. Teddy Conrad and I were dating then. We talked about it. His own father had been an alcoholic." Maddie looks over at Teddy, hearing this news for the first time. He puts his arm around her and gives her a smile as she leans into him. "We agreed to get married. He raised Maddie as his own and continues to. He's a good man and a great father, and he loves both of his daughters."
Robin asks about the accident. Deacon explains that part, that he'd been sober for 13 years before Maddie came to him asking if she was his daughter. Initially, he'd felt betrayed, hurt. What he didn't realize at the time was how much he didn't remember back then, what he was like, the position he'd put Rayna in. "We've been friends for almost 30 years, since we were kids. We were together for 11 of those years and toured together for 13 years after that. Rayna would never hurt anyone on purpose and, and I should have trusted that more. She and Teddy made a good life for Maddie, and I was still a part of it. I didn't know I was her dad, but I did get to see her grow up. I won't lie. It's still not easy, but we're figuring it out." Deacon lays on the charm, squeezing Rayna's hand and smiling at Maddie, who is resting her head on Teddy's shoulder. Even Teddy can't help but smile at the strides that are being made.
Robin thanks them for sharing their story and wishes them all the best. It's another 20 minutes before Rayna is finally able to let go of Deacon's hand. Deacon's right hand was still free when Teddy reached out to make amends, before heading out with Maddie to drop her off at school. The rest of the Highway 65 staff was getting back to work.
'I should head out, too." Deacon says. "I've got a rehearsal for this big tour." He grins sheepishly.
Rayna takes his hand again. "Thank you, Deacon. For everything. I can't thank you enough. You saved me."
Deacon looks at her, taking in her last comment. "You're not alone Rayna. I'm here. For you, for Maddie. I'm not going anywhere."
He smiles and makes a move towards the door to head to work.
"Deacon? I am truly sorry." She takes in a sharp breath.
"I know Ray." He smiles and turns again to leave.
"Deacon? " Tears suddenly threaten to overflow. "I love you so much!"
Once again he wraps his arms around her. "I'm still in love with you," she whispers in his ear.
He pulls back to look at her. She smiles and repeats her words. His eyes question her and she nods.
"Rayna-" Bucky walks into the room with some papers and sees them tangled in an embrace. He smiles.
"Yeah Buck?" Rayna asks, not taking her eyes off of Deacon.
"Just wanted to let you know the new album is soaring on iTunes."
Deacon grins at her and she smiles, looking like the weight of the world is off her shoulders, for the first time in almost a year.